Food is food, right? Well, not so much. There are certain foods and ingredients that aren’t that healthy for your body. In fact, there are some ingredients you should cut out of your diet! Today we’ll go over some of the foods that aren’t good for you and you should avoid in order to keep your body healthy.

Staying healthy isn’t always easy since supermarkets are filled with ingredients you should definitely avoid or cut out of your diet. To be honest, do you even take some time to read the labels every time you go shopping?

The truth is that few people do. Even those who care about their health don’t read the labels every time they go buy food. However, you should remember that some foods are really bad for you and have no nutritional value. This means they can cause discomforts such as abdominal swelling or even chronic illnesses or allergies.

So, take a look at this list of ingredients that you should avoid or completely cut out of your diet in order to protect your health.

Refined flours

Refined flours have been heavily processed, so they have been stripped off their natural fiber and nutrients. This means that every time you eat thm, you’re really just ingesting carbs with no added nutritional value. Due to their low fiber content, refined flours cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, which in turn can cause food cravings and mood swings.

On the other hand, refined flours that contain gluten are very prone to causing bowel inflammation. This is because the human gut isn’t designed to consume the amounts of gluten found in our current diet. Gluten is a naturally-occurring protein in wheat and other grains, that gives bread structure and support. When gluten comes into contact with our intestine, it triggers an immune response that damages the walls of the small intestine.

Although not everybody suffers from Celiac’s disease (an intolerance to gluten), most people present some kind of negative response to eating gluten in large quantities. In fact, the incidence of gluten-related disorders has significantly increased in recent decades all over the world.

It’s best to replace refined flours with whole grains or gluten-free flours. However, it’s not a good idea to stop consuming flour altogether since they’re a source of energy and fiber. Therefore, it’s best for you to choose the healthiest options out there.

Refined sugar

This second ingredient you should cut out of your diet is in almost everything you eat. This is why it’s such a big problem! Refined sugar affects your metabolic functions, which causes intestinal inflammation. In turn, this chronic inflammation cas negative effects in your immune system, making you more prone to chronic illness and diseases like cancer.

In some cases, refined sugar is difficult to identify because it has several names such as dextrose, fructose, or corn syrup. The most common problems associated with excessive consumption of this ingredient are:

Diabetes

Thyroid problems

Depression

Obesity

The best way to avoid it is by choosing fresh and natural foods. Some fruits contain it. However, in those cases it’s a natural sugar that rarely harms you if you don’t overdo it.

Lunch meats

Lunch meats are processed and contain more fat, salt, and sugar than fresh meat. When you eat cold meats, you slow down your digestion. As a result, the stomach processes these foods much slower than normal, causing a lot of gases.

Cold cuts are linked to several cancers (gastric, colorectal and pancreatic). That’s why it’s best to eat natural products such as beef, chicken or turkey breast, rabbit and fish.

Aspartame and monosodium glutamate

These ingredients you should cut out of your diet are the most commonly used artificial sweeteners and flavor enhancers. Although they help your food taste better, they can also cause insulin resistance.

Aspartame is an artificial chemical that can alter your body and cause headaches, intestinal health problems, and seizures in some cases. Although low in calories, aspartame also has a neurotoxic effect that can be very harmful when ingested on a regular basis.

On the other hand, monosodium glutamateis used to enhance the flavor and extend the shelf life of processed products. Due to its neurotoxic effect, is excessive consumption can cause nausea, anxiety, weakness, and dizziness.

Just like with refined sugar, it’s a good idea to completely cut these ingredients out of your diet. Instead, you should use honey, coconut sugar, or liquid stevia to sweeten your foods. On the other hand, to enhance flavor, use condiments! Mustard, pepper, oregano, rosemary and other herbs will greatly reduce the need for artificial enhancers.

Trans fats

Have you heard that trans fats are one of the ingredients you should cut out of your diet? These are the most harmful types of fats that humans consume. Nevertheless, they’re pretty much everywhere. Of course, trans fats are also naturally occurring (like in red meats) but our biggest source for them is fried and processed foods.

When eaten regularly, trans fats increase the chances of having cardiovascular problems and suffering from clogged arteries. Also, they’re difficult to digest, so your stomach health will also be affected in the long term. It’s best not to eat fried foods. If possible, cook your own foods or check the labels.

Potassium bromate

This ingredient that you should cut out of your diet is in most processed bread. The problem is that, if you consume it excessively, you increase your chances of developing cancer. It also alters your hormone levels and facilitates the development of kidney infections.

In order to avoid these nasty side effects, it’s best to stick to bakery bread or even make your own bread at home.

Artificial food dyes

Artificial food dyes are the last ingredient on our list, and they’re here for a reason. There are a wide variety of artificial dyes, but we’re going to talk in particular about Red#40 and Yellow #5.

These dyes have been linked to some cancers, inflammation of the colon and bowel, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Therefore, it’s best not to eat products that contain these dyes.

Other ingredients you should cut out of your diet

Besides from the ones we’ve already mentioned, here are some other common additives you should try to avoid:

Soda: This one pairs aspartame AND refined sugars, so it’s a definite no-no in a healthy diet.

Carrageenan: This common additive found in many milk substitutes is linked to increased bowel inflammation. In turn, this can increase your risk of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease as well as other chronic bowel diseases.

Soy sauce: That’s simply way too much sodium for you. Save for special occasions.

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The content in this publication is presented for informative purposes only. In no sense is this information intended to provide diagnoses or act as a substitute for the work of a qualified professional. For this we recommend that you contact a reliable specialist.

The content in this publication is presented for informative purposes only. In no sense is this information intended to provide diagnoses or act as a substitute for the work of a qualified professional. For this we recommend that you contact a reliable specialist.